Liquid Mike
Instagram / Bandcamp / Spotify / Youtube
Liquid Mike is an indie power pop rock band from Marquette, MI, in the Upper Peninsula. Liquid Mike began in 2021 and is the product of Mike Maple’s pop-rock song writing. The band features a cast of U.P. standouts including Monica Nelson, Dave Daignault, Zack Alworden, Cody Marecek. Liquid Mike inhabits a sweet spot in the musical pantheon: catchy, well- crafted guitar and vocal hooks that will snag any fan of power-pop/pop rock. Liquid Mike invokes a relatable feeling of nostalgia with everyday lyrics of the quickly-receding flavor of Big League Chew bubblegum, drinking beer from used marinara sauce jars in college, and every 4th hand rust-bucket of a car you ever drove in a Great Lakes snowstorm. They self- released their fifth LP, “Paul Bunyan’s Slingshot” on Feb 2nd 2024., Contemplating the potential exorcism of a lifelong curse has never sounded so sweet.
PONY
Facebook / Instagram / Bandcamp
PONY is back with Clearly Cursed, an album that defies the odds of a psychic and transforms their grunge pop to its fully realized potential.
As Sam Bielanski (founding member/singer-songwriter) explains, Clearly Cursed is directly inspired by their first visit to a psychic at the age of 21. “She read my tarot cards and told me boyfriend was cheating on me,” Bielsanki says. “That was true. She also told me that I had a dark spirit attachment which she could easily vanquish if I paid her $1500. That was obviously out of my budget so I left and decided I would have to coexist with this dark spirit for the rest of my life.”
On Clearly Cursed, PONY’s founding members Bielanski and Matty Morand were joined by touring collaborators Christian Beale and Joey Ginald. The four worked with producer Alex Gamble, pushing PONY’s production and songwriting to an musical identity they’ve dreamed of creating since forming more than a decade ago. The resulting sound takes their signature glittery power pop and adds influences like The Cure, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Caroline Polachek, Janet Jacket, and more. It’s an album that hides is tender softness beneath layers of fuzz and fun, allowing listeners to further explore their technicolor world of possibilities.
The album comes following an extensive touring schedule that had PONY playing with acts like Jimmy Eat World, Drug Church, Militarie Gun, Pool Kids, MSPAINT, and more. Clearly Cursed is out February 13 on Take This To Heart Records. Clearly Cursed is PONY’s third album, following the previously released TV Baby and Velveteen.
